Throughout my life, I have found myself crossing paths on numerous occasions with the legendary Jose “Pitoy” Moreno.

Back in the 1970s, when I was but a young man in the hospitality industry, our hotel, The Hotel Intercontinental Manila, would present two highly-successful series of fashion shows a year. One featured an international atelier, and the other, a homegrown fashion house.

Our international shows spotlighted designers like Jean Patou and Pierre Balmain, both from France, one of the fashion capitals of the world, who brought their very own house models. On the other hand, the domestic show always featured only Pitoy Moreno, held at the Grand Ballroom from Monday to Friday over lunch. The models were the hijas de papa of Manila’s elite. Ticket sales were never a problem. These led to my casual encounters with the great couturier.

It was during my assignment in the United Kingdom where I witnessed Pitoy’s global influence. Philippine Ambassador to the Court of Saint James John Tuason Quimson — a business tycoon in his private life — and his gracious wife, Nene Quimson — a jetsetter and a patron of Pitoy — brought his show to London. The event was unlike anything we had seen before. It even featured a massive air-conditioned tent complete with chandeliers, a spectacle back in the day we had witnessed at polo matches attended by royalty.

Pitoy’s circle included Manila’s old guard. Every Sunday, he would pass by my Tita Ethel Garcia, whom I temporarily lived with for a while, so they could head to Ayala Alabang for lunch with Corito Kalaw.

Together with his fashion models such as Mari Lacson, Rellie and Mel Liwag, he would invite us to his 700 Malvar residence for intimate dinners, where after sumptuous Pinoy food, he famously served buko sorbet.

A quarter of a century ago, I interviewed him for a national broadsheet. It took almost a whole day due to unscheduled interruptions by close friends — no appointments needed — bringing fabrics from trips abroad. This is where I learned more about the ins and outs of his mind, all while talking about travel!

He surprised me one day with a beautiful embroidered barong Tagalog, which I proudly wore in one of the National Diplomatic Receptions hosted by Buckingham Palace, with members of the Royal Family, headed by Queen Elizabeth — with all their decorations, crowns, tiaras, necklaces and bracelets — in attendance.

While I would not claim to have been a close friend, but when I learned about the Timeless: J. Moreno exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Manila, I knew I just had to visit.

Amazed I was — for these gowns I have never seen up close, always at a distance. Throughout my slow paseo, I was immediately transported back to those years when Filipino fashion headlined the world. I was proud and awestruck.

A true visionary, Pitoy Moreno traveled the world to showcase Filipino artistry, creativity, and craftsmanship. In fact, he was a staunch advocate of the traditional textiles piña and jusi, and loved to incorporate Mindanaoan fabrics in his creations. Throughout his career, he merged Filipino history and heritage, traditional and culture with international elegance. We could not help but swoon at his Maria Clara and barong Tagalog designs on full display.

“I want my designs to be very Filipino... and I want to be known as a Filipino couturier. That is very important to me,” he was quoted back in 1980. And he stuck true to that promise.

His clientele included royalty and aristocracy, luminaries and dignitaries, celebrities and superstars — the kings of Morocco and Malaysia, Princess Margaret of Great Britain, and Princess Suga of Japan, among many others, were all featured in the depository.

In the 1960s and 1970s, he staged 43 international shows across Barcelona, Los Angeles, Moscow, Tokyo and beyond.

The iconic and leading Parisian fashion magazine Le Figaro dubbed him the “Fashion Czar of Asia,” while the pioneering Asia Magazine hailed him as the region’s “High Priest of Fashion.” Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, and Women’s Wear Daily — must reads for ladies of sense and style — prominently showcased his works, which solidly cemented him the global limelight.

One of the most remarkable moments was when Rita Moreno — totally unrelated to our own Moreno — with her outstanding performance as Anita for West Side Story, won her an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in 1962. She walked up the stage, viewed on televisions by millions, in a Pitoy Moreno gown made of black-and-gold obi silk.

Over half a century later — 56 years to be exact — one of the few members of the EGOT Club, or those who have received the Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony awards, stunned audiences by donning the same gown at the 2018 Academy Awards. Today, that iconic creation lives on as part of the Rita Moreno Barbie Tribute Collection, as exhibited at the showroom.

“I went around the world to show what I do, to make my country proud,” he once declared. “However European my clothes are, I never betrayed my roots... Remember this: a Filipino who acknowledges being a Filipino is a successful Filipino.”

If Pitoy were still with us, he would have celebrated his centennial birthday this year. Though knowing him, he would have enjoyed it on a cruise! I still recall him exclaiming, “Why can’t life just be a cruise?”

I would like to believe he is now on hop-on-hop-off cruises, to continue sailing forever.

¡Enhorabuena, Pitoy Moreno! Mabuhay, Metropolitan Museum of Manila!